H.D. Lloyd Fund

In 2011 the United Nations General Assembly established July 30 as the International Day of Friendship. The day was to be a continuation of the themes of dialogue and mutual understanding proposed in the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).

We are delighted to share with you the good news that Toward Freedom Editor Ben Dangl has completed a full decade of work at TF! Over the past decade, TF writers have navigated the world’s popular uprisings while breaking stories on US imperialism and winning awards with investigative work. Lovers of independent journalism celebrate with us today and donate!

"We are here to speak for them, to call for their release. When there is an injustice, silence is complicity," said Father Roy Bourgeois, founder of School of the Americas Watch and a decades-long advocate for human rights in Latin America. He was referring to the 17 women, known as Las 17, who are currently serving 30-year sentences in prison for having miscarriages in El Salvador.

A timebank is a system of mutual credit, where a member provides a service to someone else in the timebank and gets credit, which they can redeem for that same amount of time to get something they need from another person in the network.

The violent presidential election in Burundi highlights the need for UN election-monitoring services. On the eve of the July 21st presidential election, Taye-Brook Zerihoun, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs warded that “The grave danger the country faces should not be underestimated, given the increasing polarization and the apparent choice of Burundian leaders to put personal interest before those of the country.”

While there is real joy that Obama is visiting Kenya, this moment should provide another platform for progressives to push for the demilitarization of the relations with Africa. This calls for the dismantling of the US Africa Command, the withdrawal of the Special Forces from Somalia and the end of drone strikes.

The fundamentals of American foreign policy approach have not changed. In the Middle East, it is governed by two overriding variables: one, economic – oil, gas, and strategic control and influence over countries that produce such essentials to the US and global economy – and Israel.